Local food champion Erika Merklin reports that the Victory Garden recently got a $9,600 grant from the state to support additional distribution of fresh and frozen local food throughout the region through the Southeast Alaska Food Bank. Located on Mosquito Lake Road off the 27 Mile Haines Highway, the Victory Garden is a community garden that was established in 2020.
Glenda Gilbert celebrated her birthday on Tuesday by getting out in the sun. Gilbert, who was born and raised in Haines – though she declined to share exactly when – said this is the first year she can remember celebrating a birthday without any snow.
After an extensive 12-day, community-wide search, Kathleen Menke found her lost 2-year-old golden retriever Cedar, who went missing from Menke’s Cemetery Hill property on Feb. 19. Menke posted on social media on March 2 that she’d found Cedar in a cabin on her property alive and well and with a harness she had been wearing when she disappeared removed. Menke said she is grateful for Cedar’s return.
A stunned Northern saw-whet owl got a reprieve from a large group of ravens on Main Street after resident (and CVN publisher) Rashah McChesney saw the group and wandered over to see what all of the fuss was about last week. McChesney found the ravens mobbing a small owl crouched against the wall of the Haines Sheldon Museum. After chasing the ravens off, McChesney called American Bald Eagle Foundation avian curator Kathy Benner for advice. Upon receiving photos of the owl, Benner said it looked as though he had head trauma and called foundation staffers Maia Edwards and Lily Benassi who responded about a half an hour later with a kennel in order to capture the owl. But just before their arrival the owl stood, stretched, and flew into a nearby tree. Benner encouraged anyone who finds an injured bird to avoid touching it and contact the American Bald Eagle Foundation or if no one is at the foundation, call her at 907-723-7281 and stay on site until a staff member can arrive and rescue or until the bird can leave on its own.